Advancing trait-based plant ecology: understanding the causes and consequences of trait covariation across biological scales

由于人类活动造成的环境变化正在导致第六次大规模灭绝，生态学在社会中的地位比以往任何时候都更加重要。研究约900万个具有独特基因和特征的物种，共性既是生态学的核心目标，也是生态学的挑战。为此，植物生态学最近转向了基于性状的方法。测量所有植物的共同特征，这种方法提供了一个共同的货币来比较物种。基于性状的植物生态学通过描述性状维度、植物形态和功能组织多样性的变异主轴，每个代表多个相关性状，在改善一般性方面取得了重大进展。我的研究突出了两个关键的差距，我们的理解性状协变在本地规模，本研究将解决。我的计划的长期目标是提高我们的生态和进化的理解（i）原因和（ii）跨生物尺度的植物性状协变的后果。 首先，在全球范围内很强，特质维度可以在更局部的尺度上消失，我们不知道为什么。我们不知道局部尺度过程如何影响性状协变的全球模式的机制。第二，目前基于性状的生态学没有考虑到性状-性状相互作用对植物在不同环境中表现的影响。为了解决这些差距，我将研究模型，作物和商业温带树种的碳和水利用性状之间的协调。我的短期目标（O）是：O 1。确定碳利用叶性状种内协变的本地原因; O2。评估水分利用性状在调节碳利用叶片性状之间关系中的作用; O3。评估碳和水利用性状的种内协变如何限制树种对气候变化的反应。这项研究对生态学和进化具有广泛的意义，因为无论结果如何，它都将在我们对跨尺度性状-功能关系的原因的理解方面产生全球性的重大进展。O 1使用了一种创新的跨尺度方法，这种方法在生态学中很少采用，它评估了不同整合原因的相对作用。O2是新颖的，因为基于特征的生态学很少关注水分利用特征如何影响碳经济特征之间的关系，从而影响从树木生长到生态系统功能的生态过程。O3将提高我们预测树木如何应对气候变化的能力，这对于减轻气候变化对森林生态系统的影响至关重要。森林覆盖了加拿大40%以上的土地，受到气候变化的强烈影响，为其他生物提供了基本的栖息地，是林业和加拿大社会福祉的关键资源。学员将获得宝贵的专业和技术技能，在生态学和生态生理学，这将推动他们的职业生涯在咨询，科学交流，教育或研究。

As anthropogenic environmental changes are leading to a 6th mass extinction, Ecology's place in society is more central than ever. Studying ~9 million species with unique genes and traits, generality is both a central goal and challenge of ecology. To that end, plant ecology has recently shifted toward a trait-based approach. Measuring traits common to all plants, this approach provides a common currency to compare species. Trait-based plant ecology has made significant progress toward improving generality by describing trait dimensions, major axes of variation in plant form and function organizing diversity worldwide, each representing multiple correlated traits. My research has highlighted two crucial gaps in our understanding of trait covariation at local scales which this research will address. The long-term goal of my program is to improve our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary (i) causes and (ii) consequences of plant trait covariation across biological scales. First, strong at global scales, trait dimensions can disappear at more local scales and we do not know why. We do not know how local-scale processes affect the mechanisms underpinning global patterns of trait covariation. Second, the effects of trait-trait interactions on plant performance across environments is currently not taken into account in trait-based ecology. To address these gaps, I will examine the coordination among carbon- and water-use traits in model, crop and commercial temperate tree species. My short-term objectives (O) are to: O1. Determine the local causes of intraspecific covariation in carbon-use foliar traits; O2. Assess the role of water-use traits in modulating relationships among carbon-use foliar traits; O3. Assess how intraspecific covariation in carbon- and water-use traits constrain the response of tree species to climate change. The research is of broad interest for ecology and evolution as, no matter the results, it will produce globally significant advances in our understanding of the causes of trait-function relationships across scales. O1 uses an innovative cross-scale approach rarely adopted in ecology that assesses the relative role of different causes of integration. O2 is novel because trait-based ecology has paid little attention to how water-use traits affect relationships among carbon-economic traits, shown to affect ecological processes from tree growth to ecosystem function. O3 will improve our ability to predict how trees respond to climate change, which is essential to mitigate the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. Covering over 40% of Canada and strongly impacted by climate change, forests provide the basic habitats for other organisms and are a resource critical to the forestry industry and social well-being of Canadians. Trainees will gain valuable professional and technical skills in ecology and ecophysiology that will advance their careers in consulting, scientific communication, education or research.